Friday, December 14, 2018

LLS Pressure Cooker: Dispelling the Myth

We have all heard the famous “Look to your left and then look to your right” story.1 Believe it or not, law school is NOT out to destroy you. The amount of collaboration, positivity, and fun that permeates Loyola has consistently surprised me. Professors and students alike encourage an open and supportive environment where students can find joy in their work and have fun while learning the law.

The professors and staff do an incredible job keeping things fun. Prof. Levenson for example welcomes us to each criminal law class with upbeat music from showtunes to classical rock. On more than one occasion, she has invited students to dance in class. She also keeps us grounded in the humanity of the law, both in its flaws and its empathy. Even after subjecting a poor soul to intense scrutiny on a particular issue, she will ask the class to applaud the student’s effort. As we have learned, there are very few absolute answers in a law school lecture. What matters is the attempt to make an argument.

The students at Loyola are just as incredible. We all work together keep our learning experience open and positive. Virtually everyone is willing to help with an outline or lecture notes. I have never been turned away by anyone if I had a question about an issue discussed in lecture. One person in my section lost her laptop at the airport along with all of her notes and all of her course work. When the class found out, every single person volunteered to share their notes. A few even offered her a spare laptop! Everyone works hard and wants to succeed but, at the end of the day, we are all in the same boat so we might as well row along together.

1For those who haven’t, the punchline is that only one in three people are able to cope with the stress and workload of law school to make it to graduation.